PSA for the ear piercers

DD has had hers pierced for about a year. We got them done right around her 5th birthday. Her right ear has always seemed to be problematic, it was always the one that seemed red or to get caught on things. Her left ear was perfect.

I've noticed on Saturday that her earring on the right side has just seemed lower than the other. I took it out and was amazed at how big the hole had gotten. I check them regularly and clean them, so I knew it was a little stretched. But it really was opened up- you could look through the hole. Her lobe was almost in half. We removed her earring hoping it would start to heal up. Unfortunately, last night, this happened....

There is nothing we can do at this point. Her pedi said because it wasn't a sudden tear that they can't just stitch it. We are looking at having to take her to a plastic surgeon to have it fixed up. The pedi plastic surgeon can't even consult with us until March. Even then, if they can fix it, she will probably never be able to wear earrings in that ear. Not to mention insurance most likely won't cover it and we will be out at least probably a few thousands.

Luckily DD is old enough to understand what happened. She is not in pain and more upset about the fact that she is going to have to put her earrings away. But it's just a reminder that piercing ARE serious. It's not just another accessory, you are putting a hole in your child that can scar them for life.

Luckily we can afford and will do the surgery, if insurance doesn't cover it. It sounds like they just locally numb it and then fix it up from there so hopefully it is quick and painless. But I hate that she has to walk around for a few months with a band aid on her ear.

I have this happen to me with some of my piercings. My body pretty much rejects the piercing and starts to push it out. This happened to my tragus piercing and I had a surfafe dermal piercing that this happened to also.
I'm sorry that this happened to her..its a bummer, but happy to know she's handling it very well.

Hugs to you and your daughter! I got my ears pierced when I was 11. Long story short, my right ear got infected and the earring went into my ear. Yes, in between the skin in my ear. It had to be pushed out once the infection went down.

Thank you so much for sharing, I'm going to show the picture to my 5, almost 6 year old dd.

I got my ears pierced when I was 9 or 10. My mother insisted that I be able to take care of my ears my self, since my mother's ears were never pierced. I had problems from day one, allergies and such. It got better at one point enough that I got 4 piercings up my lobe. But things went down hill from there. Today I have only the original holes open and I can only wear earrings on special occasions and only for a couple of hours at a time.

Of course, dd is aching to get her ears pierced but I'm sticking to the same guns my mother stuck to - she has to be old enough to take care of her own ears...which we're a long way aways from. I know she's going to have allergies to metals, like me, another reason to wait.

Shan, I will be hoping for a great result from the surgery and quick healing.